Provenance determination of materials (e.g., minerals) is useful for a variety of reasons. For example, materials from one location may be more valuable than those from another location. In addition, laws restricting the sale of materials from certain areas may exist due to geopolitical concerns. Currently, distinguishing between particular conflict ore deposits (e.g., columbite and tantalite) requires a combination of mineralogical, geochemical and geochronological analyses, which can be both time consuming and catastrophically destructive to the sample. In the case of rare and highly valuable materials, non-destructive analytical tools are typically necessary to preserve the integrity of the sample.
As it currently stands, non-destructive origin determination is largely based on a combination of human observations and data collected from advanced analytical instrumentation. Final determination decisions typically fall to the uncertain and sometimes varying opinions of research scientists. Techniques traditionally used for origin determination include Raman and Luminescence Spectroscopy, X-ray Radiography, Tomography, Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF), and Scanning Electron Microscope Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and Laser-Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) have also recently been applied to provenance determination studies. Each of the above techniques offers both advantages and disadvantages.